The founder of an Upstate basketball academy who says that he helped hundreds of students get college scholarships could be deported after pleading guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit visa fraud.

Besides possibly being removed from the United States, Michael Rawson could be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, Senior U.S. District Judge Henry Herlong Jr., said during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Greenville.

Rawson, 48, was the founder of 22ft Academy, which was based in Greenville County before moving to Anderson County in 2016. Students from throughout the nation and beyond attended in hopes of improving basketball skills and earning college scholarships.

Authorities accused Rawson of lying about the status of a Dutch company that he said was affiliated with 22ft Academy in order to obtain a U.S. visa.

Rawson's attorney, Matthew Kappel, asked Herlong to waive or expedite a pre-sentencing report so his client could be deported to the United Kingdom as soon as possible. Rawson is a citizen of the United Kingdom. His wife, Brenda, who also is facing federal visa-fraud charges, is a citizen of the Netherlands. The couple wants to go to the United Kingdom before it leaves the European Union next year so they can eventually return to the Netherlands more easily.

The judge denied Kappel's request, pointing out that many people are "languishing in prison" awaiting pre-sentence reports.

A trial for Brenda Rawson is set to be held in March. According to court records, she also is accused of telling the academy's students to lie to law-enforcement officials if they were questioned about the academy's operations and living conditions.

Michael Rawson told assistant coaches from Europe "to lie in interviews with immigration authorities about working in the United States," according to court records.

The federal investigation that led to the indictments against Rawson and his wife began after one of the students at 22ft Academy, Turkish national Mumin Tunc, was arrested in March 2016 for remaining in the U.S. after his student visa expired.

In his interview with federal investigators, Tunc admitted he was not going to school, court records show.

"Through investigation it was revealed that multiple other students failed to attend class," according to an affidavit by Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Thomas Howie.

In May 2016, Anderson County Sheriff's Office deputies and Homeland Security agents visited a property on Concord Road in Anderson County where 22ft Academy students were living in a renovated barn.

Sheriff's investigator Ben Cothran said the living conditions for the students were "marginal." He observed bunk beds in the barn that were double and triple stacked.

One month later, Michael Rawson sought a special exception from Anderson County officials so that he could continue housing the academy's students in the barn. After facing opposition from dozens of residents, Rawson withdrew his request and disbanded 22ft Academy. He then started a new basketball academy in Beaufort.

He declined to comment after Tuesday's hearing.

Brenda Rawson's attorney, Margaret Chamberlin, told Herlong that her client and Michael Rawson can no longer legally work in the United States. She said the couple is facing financial problems and has sold their car and moved into a friend's home. She said they will be able to support their two sons, who are now living with a relative in Europe, only until June.

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